AfriGeneas Military Research Forum Archive

Hi Melvin: I was sent to Korea in December 1950, at the age of 17 years, as a member of the D.C. National Guard. I joined to earn money for college, just prior to the North Korean invasion of South Korea.

My Grandfather, who was born a slave in Virginia,in 1852, told the Philadelphia Tribune, in 1936 that he was a messenger for the Confederate Army. He would have probably been taken by his master or his brother to war, when he was ten years old, in 1862, when they organized their local Cavalry outfits. My Grandfather was an excellent horseman and later a Riding Academy owner and showhorse trainer as was my Uncle, his son.

Young men grew up and matured earlier in past years, because they were taught or were forced to be independent, by their circumstances. Many falsified their ages, even in my era, to get away from home or other reasons.
Lloyd